EKY dominates list of top talent
BY PHILL BARNETT
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PRESTONSBURG — The Appalachian Arts and Entertainment Awards announced the top finalists for each award category on the Big Sandy Community and Technical College Facebook page Monday.
Several artists and entertainers from eastern Kentucky and the surrounding area were selected as finalists by voters.
The Appalachian Arts and Entertainment Awards, also known as the Appy’s, will be held at the Mountain Arts Center on March 18. Tickets are currently available through the MAC.
The awards show honors top artistic talent from the 13 Appalachian states.
“A lot of people don’t realize it, but the Appalachian region starts in New York and goes all the way South down into Arkansas,” said Prestonsburg Mayor Les Stapleton during the live-streamed finalist announcement.
“We recognize artists from as many mediums as possible,” said MAC Executive Director and BSCTC Fine Arts Director Joe Campbell. “As well as people who are actively teaching an art form to children and adults.”
Voting members of the public selected the top three finalists in each category. A panel of qualified judges will determine the winner of each award.
“This year we had over 250,000 votes,” said Stapleton.
Education
Dobyns-Bennett High School of Tennessee along with Ricky Wells and James Madison High School of Virginia were the top three finalists for Best High School Band.
Christian County High School and Franklin County High School of Kentucky and Juliet High School of Tennessee were the finalists for Best High School Choir.
The Best Music Educator finalists include Route 66 of West Virginia along with Amy Conley and Steve Porter of Kentucky.
In the Best Acting/Drama/Speech Educator category, the top three finalists are the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Ohio, Youth Performing Arts Center in Kentucky and the Barter Theater in Virginia.
Jody Shepherd of Dance Etc., Carla Gover of Kentucky and the Morristown School of Dance arts in Tennessee were the top three nominated for Best Dance Educator.
Best Arts Educator finalists include Joshua Spencer of Kentucky, the School for Creative and Performing Arts of Ohio and Queen City Clay of Ohio.
Written Works
Robin Chapman of Ohio and Amanda Turner and Treyton Blackburn of Kentucky are the top three nominees for Best Author/Writer.
Best Poet finalists include Crystal Wilkinson and George Ecklund of Kentucky, as well as William S. Tribell of Tennessee.
Visual Arts
Peyton Martin, Cheyenne Smith and Chris Burkhardt are each from Kentucky among the top three finalists for Best Digital/Mixed Media Artist.
Top finalists for Best Graphic Designer included Jimbo Valentine of Huntington, West Virginia, Jessalynn Bowman of Kentucky and Frida Gonzalez of Kentucky.
Best Painting finalists include Curtis Eades of Kentucky, Gabe Lewis of New York and Tiffini Scherbing of Lancaster, Kentucky.
The top three finalists for Best Sculpture/Pottery are Bob Barinksi of South Carolina, Peyton Martin of Kentucky and Link Henderson of Kentucky.
Michael Wilcox of West Virginia, Carmelo of Ohio and Laura Kepper of Tennessee are the top finalists in the category of Best Tattoo Artist.
Best Photography finalists include Lisa Morrow of Mississippi, Larry Hepling of Kentucky and Sarah Cahill of Kentucky.
The top finalists for Best Cartoonist/Illustrator include Chris Burkhardt of Kentucky, Frida Gonzalez of Kentucky, and Kayla Freeman of Inez, Kentucky.
Best Textile finalists are Eugene Swafford, Tiffany Miller and New Frontier Outfitters, all from Kentucky.
The top three Best Jewelry Design finalists are Kathy Stout of West Virginia, Ann Vaughn of Virginia and Cummings Jewelry Design of Alabama.
Film
Best Original Movie/Short Film/Documentary finalists are “The Austin City Saloon Years” by Greg Austin of Kentucky, “Shaped by Fire” by Pike TV of Kentucky and “Returns” by William S. Tribell of Tennessee.
Music
Top Releases
“Burn” by No Deceit, “Nothing to Lose” by Luke Trimble and “The Opening Act” by Jayce Turley, all from Kentucky, are the finalists for Best EP.
Album of the year finalists include “Appalachian Dream” by Cody Howard of Kentucky, “Let Me Know” by Corduroy Brown of Huntington, W.Va., and “001” by Branden Martin of Kentucky.
Best in Genre
Best Americana genre finalists are the Mama Said String Band, Nolan Taylor and Trippin’ Roots, all from Kentucky.
The Best Bluegrass artists by popular vote are Coaltown Dixie of Kentucky, the Goodwin Brothers of Kentucky and Bobby Maynard and Family of West Virginia.
There are only two nominees in the Best Blues category: T. D. Young of Kentucky and David Brown Wayward Blues of North Carolina.
Four artists are finalists in the Best Country category: Cody Lee Meece and the Poor Excuses of Kentucky, Kentucky Music Mafia, Twitty and Lynn of Tennessee and Eight Daze Sober of Kentucky.
Best Funk/R&B/Reggae finalists are Big Black Cadillac, Joslyn and the Sweet Compression and Jessie Laine Powell, all from Kentucky.
There are only two nominees in the Best Religious/Worship/Spiritual category: Mel Lynn of Kentucky and My Brother’s Keeper of Ohio.
The Best Rap/Hip-Hop finalists are Lil Jessie of Paintsville, Kentucky, Charlie Brown Superstar of West Virginia and Bryson Tiller of Louisville, Kentucky.
Best Indie/Indie Folk finalists include Brett and Donnie of Lexington, Kentucky, Corduroy Brown of Huntington, W.Va., and Townsel Turner of Garrett.
The top three finalists for Best Jazz/Latin/Big Band/World Music are Big Sug and the Jazz Funkers of Kentucky, Jessie Laine Powell of Kentucky, Glenn Hughes and the Retro Cats of Georgia and One Leg Up of North Carolina.
There are only two finalists for Best Metal/Punk: What Drives the Weak and Mirrored Image, both from Kentucky.
In the category of Best Pop we have Rags and Riches of Lexington, Wicked Peace and Hailey Newman, all from Kentucky.
Best Rock finalists include the Moondogs, Mel Lynn and Blacktop Rodeo, all from Kentucky.
Top Musicians and Composers
The Best Singer-Songwriter finalists are Zoey Howard of Prestonsburg, Nolan Taylor and Brando Vanschoyck, all from Kentucky.
The Best Original Song finalists are My Brother’s Keeper of Ohio, Cody Lee Meece of Kentucky and Brando Vanschoyck of Kentucky.
Trevor Litrell and Mike Anglin of Kentucky and Oliver Sayani of Tennessee are the top nominees for Best Bassist.
The top Best Cover Band/Variety Act nominees are Eight Daze Sober, the Allman Butter Band and Nathan and Chessie Arnett, all from Kentucky.
The Best Drummer/Percussion finalists are Jeremy “Wood” Roberts of West Virginia, Honey of Fallsburg, Kentucky and Jeremy Toler of Kentucky.
For Best Guitarist, David Prince of Fallsburg, Kentucky, Oliver Sayani of Tennessee and Jonathan Goodwin of Kentucky have been selected as finalists.
In the category of Best Strings, Non-Guitar Bass, finalists are Titus Lackput of Ohio, Junior Williams and Corbin Bentley of Kentucky.
Bek Smallwood of Kentucky, Taylor Hughes of Tennessee and Hailey Newman of Kentucky are the top nominees for Best Female Vocalist.
Best Male Vocalist has four finalists: Brando Vanschoyck, Nolan Taylor and Cody Lee Meece of Kentucky and Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. of West Virginia.
Best Wind/Brass finalists are Trent Litrell and Matt Polashik of Kentucky and Philip Summers of West Virginia.
Industry
The top nominees for Best Social Media Influencer are Taylor Hughes of Tennessee, Kentucky Music Mafia and the Appalachian Forager Whitney Johnson of Kentucky.
Best Radio Personality finalists include Beer Man with 92.1 WBVX Classic Rock FM, Brittany Rowe with Mountain Top Media, and Dennis Dillon with WKQQ 100.1, all from Kentucky.
Bryan Combs of Kentucky, “Steel Magnolia Podcast” of Tennessee and Austin Shuck’s “What the Shuck?!” were selected as Best Podcast finalists.
The Best Small Live Music Venue (500 Seats or Fewer) finalists are Twisted Cork, Bluegrass Barrel House and Alley on Main of Paintsville, all located in Kentucky.
Nominated in the category of Best Large Live Music Venue (501 Seats or More), the finalists are Paramount Arts Center of Ashland, Appalachian Wireless Arena of Pikeville, and Riverbend of Ohio. Though the Mountain Arts Center was nominated in this category, being the host, the MAC withdrew themselves from the contest.
The top contenders for Best Luthier/Stringed Instrument Maker are John Rasner of Kentucky, Panzer Guitars of Ohio and Eric Chaffins Guitars of Pennsylvania.
Best Recording Studio/Engineer/Producer finalists are Kyle Manner of Tennessee, 6OH!6 Entertainment of Prestonsburg and Jonathan Goodwin of Kentucky.
The Best Music Festival category has four finalists: Manchester Music Festival in Kentucky, Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Virginia, Carolina Country Music Festival in South Carolina and Festival of the Red in Kentucky.
Best Television Host/Personality finalists are Chad Hedrick with WKYT in Lexington, Kentucky, Julie Newman with PBS Appalachia in Abingdon, Va., and Linda Fontaine with Host and Valley Broadcasting in Kingsport, Tenn.
Visit macarts.com or call 888-MACARTS to purchase tickets and keep up-to-date with the Mountain Arts Center.